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If you’ve earned your LPN and you’re not ready—or not planning—to earn your RN, there are still many ways to increase your skills, knowledge, and earnings as a nurse. One great way is to earn specialized lpn certifications in your areas of interest.

Specialized lpn certifications demonstrate that you have specific expertise in a certain area. Earning one or more can open doors to opportunities that you may not have without them. Earning a specialized lpn certification has many benefits for your career because it:

Gives you more earning potential

Makes you more marketable to prospective employers

Allows you to work in the health care niche you enjoy most

There are many certifications you can earn, but here are some of the most popular and in-demand by health care employers:

IV Therapy

One of the most-popular types of certificate programs for LPNs, IV certification allows you to administer IV therapy.

Tracheostomy and ventilator care

If you wish to work with patients with a tracheostomy and ventilator, you’ll need this special certification to perform this type of complex care.

Wound care

An extremely popular certification among LPNs who work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home care, the wound care certification allows you to participate in the cleaning and treatment of all types of wounds.

Pediatric advanced life support

Offered through a variety of organizations affiliated with the American Heart Association, the pediatric advanced life support certification enables you to work in pediatric care.

Advanced cardiac life support

An advanced cardiac life support certification program will train you how to respond in cases of cardiac arrest and other heart-related emergencies.

Certified hemodialysis nurse

CHN-certified practical nurses are able to work in nephrology care (eg, kidney treatment) in many different health care settings.

Pharmacology

One of several common certifications that many LPNs pursue, the pharmacology certification teaches the principles of pharmacology and medication administration, drug classifications, medication assessment, procedures for administration, dosage calculations of medications, and intravenous fluid rates.

Gerontology

One of the most popular, a gerontology certification allows an LPN perform a range of responsibilities in any setting that specializes in caring for elderly patients.

Developmental disabilities

To become a specialist who works with individuals who have either an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), it is usually necessary for an LPN to earn this certificate. This certificate program can prepare you to work in home care and long-term care facilities serving patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Long-term care

With the explosion in the number of elderly patients being served at home and in health care facilities across the country, the long-term care certification has become particularly useful for many LPNs.

Some health care employers, like BAYADA, offer specialized training programs to help you learn and increase your skill level so you have more career options. Simulation labs with high-tech manikins give you in-depth, hands-on experience for skill building and to handle emergencies; nurse residency programs offer intensive, fast-track trainings for new LPNs; and infant care training teaches you to care for the most fragile babies, from birth to 18 months.

Author

BAYADA Home Health Care is a trusted leader in providing clinical care and support services at home for children and adults of all ages. Since 1975, company founder Mark Baiada has been at the forefront of the home health care movement — working to give people greater access to high-quality care that helps them live safely at home.